The Good Life
by AmJay5785
Summary: After a tragic accident, Elizabeth Webber must take on responsibilities she isn't ready for. Maybe, making a new friend in Jason Morgan will help her get through this. Liason!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

The silence of the hallway brought an uneasy feeling to Elizabeth Webber as she sat on the uncomfortable chair outside of the lawyer's office. She leaned her head back against the cool concrete wall as she stared up at the leaking ceiling above her. She grimaced when a small piece of the ceiling fell and landed at her stiletto encased feet.

She brought her attention to the little boy who sat perched on the chair next to her when he shifted for the third time in under one minute, causing the chair to creak. He was wearing a pair of black slacks and a button-down white shirt that Elizabeth how no doubt had to be uncomfortable for the four year old. Kid's his age should be outside with their nanny playing in the sandbox, not sitting in the stuffy courthouse hallway all afternoon.

Elizabeth glanced down at the boy, only seeing the top of his curly hair. He was glancing down at his feet that swung well above the floor, his shoulders were slouched, and Elizabeth was sure that if she could see his face, there would be tears in his eyes.

Taking in a deep breath, suppressing the urge to cough the stiff air back out, Elizabeth turned her attention back to the ceiling that was literally falling apart in front of her eyes. She had no idea what to do. One minute her life was ideal. She was living the life she had always dreamed of. Which, she added proudly, hardly anyone could ever say the same.

She lived by her own rules when it came to living and working, especially since she owned her own gallery. Her romantic and family life might not be ideal to the outside viewer, but she was damn well happy with exactly where her life was.

And then, in the next minute, everything fell apart.

"_When are you ever going to take responsibility and grow up, Elizabeth?"_

"_Excuse me, Sarah, but I have plenty of responsibilities. You obliviously haven't had to run your own business before. It must be real hard staying home everyday while your husband works and takes care of everything, right?"_

"_Do not even go there." Sarah McArthur hissed at her sister. "You have no idea what its like to be a stay at home mom. You may think that your gallery is hard to run, but you don't know what its like to have people depend on you. You need to settle down and have a family in order to understand that."_

_Elizabeth rolled her eyes at her sister. Somehow, someway, every conversation that occurred between the siblings ended in a lecture about Elizabeth needing to settle down. "I am way too young to have a family. Stop trying to make me into something I'm not. I'll never be you, Sarah. I won't have the perfect child and husband and home with the white picket fence. I love the way my life is. There is nothing wrong with the way I live."_

_Sarah's voice held her obvious disagreement. "Do you honestly believe that? Going on the way that you do, sleeping with someone who will never settle—"_

"_Would you listen to me?" Elizabeth interrupted. "I don't want to settle down! I am perfectly happy with the relationship that Patrick and I have."_

"_You know that if mom were alive she would be so ashamed of you right now."_

"_You know what Sarah, I don't need this." Elizabeth threw the plastic bowl she had been washing throughout the entire conversation into Sarah's kitchen sink. "Can't we just have one damn dinner without you trying to run my life? Mom's dead, and even when she was alive, she always let me know how ashamed she was of me. I don't need you to rub it in every time I see you."_

"_I'm not rubbing it in." Sarah's voice lowered as she stared at her sister with hurt. It was never her intention to put her sister down. She just wanted Elizabeth to experience the happiness she had with her family. _

"_Sure as hell could have fooled me."_

Elizabeth was snapped out of her memory as a door slammed further down the hall. That had been the last conversation she had and would _ever_ have with her sister. It killed Elizabeth to know that the very last things she said to her sister were hurtful and she would never be able to take them back. Sarah, in her own and annoying way, had always tried to take on the role of mother to Elizabeth since their own hardly paid attention to the younger sister. It was because of their mother that Elizabeth had always pushed herself to do things that seemed impossible, like running her own art gallery. And it was because of their mother that she tried in every way possible to be the exact opposite from Sarah.

Since Sarah knew all of this, she tried more than anything to help Elizabeth see that a family life was not full of pain and regret. But she never succeeded, and she would never have the chance to try again.

Elizabeth could feel the burn of tears forming in the back of her eyes and the tightness of her throat closing. She couldn't cry here. She was able to hold off her tears when the door to the lawyers office opened, summoning her inside.

Standing, Elizabeth smoothed her skirt, wishing for the fourth time that day that she hadn't gone with such a short one, and reached her hand out to the four year old still sitting in the chair that was next to hers. His head was still down, his little legs kicking back and forth.

"William." Elizabeth called softly and managed a small smile when he looked up at her. His light brown eyes matching those of his mothers. "It's time to go."

Slowly, William stood from his chair and reached out his small, chubby hand to place it inside Elizabeth's. He grasped onto her fore and middle finger as he pushed his small body into her side, his head barely reaching her hip. He wouldn't look at anyone, just at the ground, as he and Elizabeth walked into the lawyer's office.

Richard Lansing, the lawyer who was in charge of the case, gestured to the two plush chairs that sat on one side of the desk as he took his seat in his large chair that sat on the opposite side. Elizabeth guided William and gave him a boost into the big chair before sitting down. She looked around the lawyer's office and couldn't help but notice the distinguished difference from outside in the hallway. This office did not belong in this building; that was for sure.

"First, let me express my sympathies for your recent loss." As Richard spoke, Elizabeth turned her gaze from his collection of books that sat on a rich bookshelf and focused on the lawyer. His eyes, as they gazed at her from the top of her head to where one leg crossed over the other at the knee didn't show any of the sympathy he just recently expressed. The sleaze was actually checking her out.

"It's been a rough couple of days."

Again, his eyes roamed over her body, bringing back that uneasy chill that ran through her body earlier.

Richard cleared his throat and snapped his gaze away from hers at her blatant glare. He shuffled through some papers before gazing back up at her. This time, the look in his eyes was professional. "I called you in here before everyone else because your sister wanted me to discuss some things with you in private before everyone else learned of the new arrangements." Elizabeth glanced down at William who was staring at the floor yet again. When her eyes turned back to Richard, the lawyer read her the question in her gaze. "The arrangements concern the child; it's why he is here with you."

A strange, dreadful feeling began to form in Elizabeth's stomach. "Ok?"

"When you sister and brother-in-law had William, they came to me to change their will several times. They both came to me about two months ago to change it yet again."

Elizabeth nodded her head slightly to indicate she was following along when Richard paused.

Hesitantly, Richard continued. "Your sister and her husband changed who should receive custody of William should anything happen to both of them." He paused, cleared his throat in his unease at the panicked look appearing on Elizabeth's face. "Because of their recent accident ending in," he glanced at William before turning back to Elizabeth and whispering, "their death. It is their wish that you receive full custody of William."

The breath was knocked right out of Elizabeth in that moment. Her? They wanted her to take care of their son? She couldn't do that, she couldn't raise William. Hell, she was still growing up herself. "I don't understand… no, that can't be right." Richard grimly nodded his head and gave a sympathetic look at William who was now giving his aunt his full attention. "No, no, what about our mom's sister, she was supposed to have custody if anything happened. Sarah had told me that last year."

"Like I said, Sarah came and changed her will several times, the custody being one thing she changed on one of her visits."

"But… she can't possibly want me to raise her kid." Elizabeth cried in her panicked state. Had she been thinking clearly, she would never have said anything in front of William, but the entire thing was such a shock. She had come thinking that their aunt was going to have custody of William, and now she was going to be leaving that courthouse with a child to take care of?

She was fun Aunt Elizabeth who brought him cool toys, she wasn't meant to be a mother figure!

"What about our Grams?"

"She's eighty-three, Elizabeth. She is in no condition of taking in a four year old child."

She knew that, but dammit, she was grasping at straws. Her life did not fit having a child. She was never home, and… great! Her home was no place for a kid who would most likely break every thing in sight. That was one of the reasons she always ended up going to Sarah's house. She didn't want kids running around in her place.

"Mr. Lansing—"

"Please, call me Ric."

She ignored his interruption. "I have no right taking care of a child. My sister… how can I put this? She was out of her mind when she chose me to be William's guardian."

"Elizabeth, I know that all of this is being dropped in front of you out of the blue, but your sister wanted what was best for her son. Her last wish was for you to take William in and be there for him since she's not going to be able to. It was a tragic accident that took your sister and her husband's life, but at least they were prepared in knowing what they wanted for their child and making sure they got it by making a will. Most parents don't think to make a will and when things happen, ugly custody battles usually come about."

"That's Sarah for you, always prepared." Rubbing her forehead with the tips of her fingers, Elizabeth closed her eyes. Opening them, she turned her gaze to William. The look on his face tore at her heart. She knew that face, had worn the same expression for many years when she was a child.

Rejection.

One side of her mouth lifted in a small reassurance, the least she could do after she was the one who caused such a sad expression to appear on his face. Elizabeth reached out and covered his hand that was resting on the arm rest and gave it a little squeeze. Taking in a deep breath, she looked at Richard. "What do I have to sign?"

And just like that, Elizabeth Webber became an instant mother.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Well, this… this is it."

Elizabeth held the door open as her four year old nephew slowly made his way into her one bedroom apartment. William still hadn't said a word since they left the courthouse earlier that afternoon. He stared into his lap on the car ride to her aunt's house where they picked up some things while Lisa, Sarah and Elizabeth's aunt, was told about the child's new living arrangements.

William had been living with Lisa since Sarah and her husband, Jack, was killed in a car accident four days ago. It was thought to everyone that the aunt would have custody of William and so, to avoid any confrontation, Elizabeth had picked up some of Williams belongings while her aunt wasn't there.

The last thing Elizabeth needed was for another run in with her disapproving Aunt Lisa.

Elizabeth hadn't paid any attention to the fact that the usually energetic child was quiet while she was packing his things. She wanted nothing more than to get out of her aunt's house before the woman came home. But, on the ride back to her apartment, she began to notice that William hadn't said a word. She tried to get him to talk in the car by asking him questions, but he only shrugged his shoulders or shook his head.

He walked past her into the living room which held her expensive leather couch and matching love seat. He looked around, and, once finished with his observation of the room, just stood there.

"I know it's not much." Well, it was pretty damn good, actually. She was renting from one of the best apartment complexes in Port Charles, and, though her apartment wasn't the biggest, it was considered a deluxe apartment. Shutting the door, Elizabeth grimaced on her next statement, hating that she was going to have to leave such an amazing place. "We're not going to be staying here long. You'll need your own room and, well…" she stopped once she realized that William wasn't even paying attention to what she was saying.

Elizabeth had no idea what to do with the kid. She glanced at her clock, realized that it was well past dinner and remembered that neither of them had eaten since before their meeting with Richard.

Walking into her kitchen, she opened the top drawer next to her phone. Pulling out every take-out menu, she walked into the living room to see William still standing in the same place. "Are you hungry?" He shrugged. She gestured to the couch. "Why don't you sit down and get more comfortable? Alright, well, we have a lot of choices here. Do you like Chinese?"

A shrug.

"Ok, how about Italian?"

Another shrug.

"Mexican?"

Shrug.

"You have to help me out here, William." Elizabeth said more forcefully than she intended. Sighing, she softened her tone. "I'm sorry, but I need to know what you want to eat. You have to eat something."

"Can I have kicken?"

Elizabeth never thought she would be so happy to hear that little voice. "Sure, anything you want."

"And french-fries?" He asked, some excitement entering his words.

Elizabeth smiled down on him, ran her hand through his brown curls. This was much better than his quietness. If she knew all she had to do was get him a Happy Meal to make him happy, than she would have done it hours ago.

"How does McDonalds sound?"

* * *

If she never saw the inside of a McDonalds again she would be able to die a happy woman. Kids were everywhere. Running around with food in their hands, screaming on the top of their lungs, and the parents just sat there doing nothing about it. It was the most stressful experience Elizabeth had ever encountered at a food joint.

After she allowed William to play in the playground for a bit and almost died of a heart attack when she thought she lost him in a sea of plastic balls, Elizabeth decided it was time to go home where she could take four Advil's to relieve her headache.

William changed into his Spiderman pajamas and crawled onto the couch where she was setting up his temporary bed. His little feet hung over the side of the couch as he watched her tuck a sheet into the corner of the couch.

Elizabeth looked over, saw him staring at her and smiled. "You ready for bed?"

"No."

She stopped and frowned. "What else do you have to do?"

William sighed as if she had asked the most obvious question. "I gotta say my pa-whas."

"Alright, just let me finish making your bed and then you can say your prayers."

Elizabeth tucked the sheet into the last corner and spread a blanket over the couch. She moved over to her loveseat and began to pick up the many throw pillows she had thrown over there when she began to make William's bed. She scattered them all around the floor, not wanting the boy to fall off the couch in the middle of the night and break his neck. She bit her bottom lip as she stared at the numerous pillows that now covered her floor next to her couch wondering if they were enough.

She just got the kid; she didn't want to break him.

Sighing, she placed her hands on her hips. "Your bed's ready for you. You know where my room is incase you need anything, I'll leave the door open, ok?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "I'll leave the hallway light on for you." Awkward, she leaned down and kissed him on his forehead. "Goodnight."

Turning, she began to walk to her room when William called out to her.

"What 'bout your pa-whas?"

"You want me to say them with you?"

"Mommy always did."

Elizabeth felt the sting of tears hit the back of her eyes but fought it off. Walking over to the couch, she kneeled on one of the pillows and waited for William to slide off the couch and kneel next to her. He hopped off the couch, landing on his bottom on the pillows and giggled, knowing that he was going to have to do that again.

William kneeled next to Elizabeth and placed his elbows on the couch, clasping his small hands together. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He recited the prayer he and his mother had said together since the moment he learned to speak, ending with his personal blessing's his mother always encouraged him to add.

Elizabeth was having a hard time holding back her tears listening to William say the exact poem her mother used to say with her and Sarah when they were children. Those were the good times, the times Elizabeth could remember feeling like she was actually a part of her family. But when William began to ask God for blessings, the tears began to fall.

"And pawease bwess mommy and daddy in heaven."

Turning her face away to hide her tears, Elizabeth swiped quickly at her cheeks before she turned back to William. She gave him a smile before helping him onto the couch and tucking him in. She kissed his forehead once more, lingering, wondering how she was going to be able to do this. Pulling away, she tapped his nose. "Goodnight."

"G'night!"

Elizabeth retreated to her bedroom feeling so tired she knew she was going to fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Pulling down her covers, she sighed as she crawled into her queen-sized bed, trying with all her might to let the stress from the day leave her body.

She was definitely going to need to attend an extra yoga class this week if she wanted to relieve all of her stress. Her sister had to have been under the influence of something to want to make her the guardian of William. Sarah knew how irresponsible Elizabeth was when it came to other people. She lived a life that had no room for kids. And, because of the change of a will, her life was now going to be turned upside down.

Elizabeth could have sworn that she had just fallen asleep when she heard the soft shuffling of feet by her bed. But when she looked at the clock she knew that she had been asleep for at least three hours. She frowned when William spoke, a tinge of fear in his lisp.

"Aunt Ewizabit?"

"Hmm, what… what's wrong?" Her body was so weak with sleep she was having a hard time sitting up so she could talk to him.

"I wet myself."

On her leather couch!

That got her up. Elizabeth sat up quickly in bed and threw the cover off. William was standing in front of her, his lower lip trembling as he shifted from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable in his wet pants. Her anger was quickly gone at the sight of his pitiful expression.

"Let me get you another pair of pajamas, ok?"

He nodded his head, following her when she walked over to one of his bags. She quickly pulled out a pair and led him to the bathroom. Wetting a wash cloth, she set it on the counter. "Wash your legs before you put on the new pants. I'll be in the living room cleaning up."

She left the door open, making her way to her couch. Right in the middle of her couch was a huge wet stain. If she thought about how expensive the sheets were or how her couch might be ruined, she would cry. So she didn't think about it at all. Just yanked the sheets off, rolled them into a ball and walked them into her room to place in the laundry basket. She finished off by cleaning up the couch as best as she could.

When she made her way into her bedroom it was to find William standing at the foot of her bed, waiting for her. His eyes were downcast, his lower lip was stuck out, sure that he was going to get yelled at. Elizabeth knew that William was potty trained, but with children who experienced tragedies such as losing both parents and being moved from one house to the next, they tended to regress.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It was an accident."

William nodded slowly. Elizabeth glanced at her bed and back out to her hallway that led to the living room. "Would you like to sleep in my bed with me? It's big enough for the both of us."

William was already running to her bed and reaching up to grasp onto the blanket in order to pull him up before Elizabeth even finished. She laughed silently at his continued failed attempt to climb onto her high bed but when she went to help him, he shook his head. "I can do it."

It took him three more attempts before he finally wiggled his way onto the bed.

Climbing onto the other side, Elizabeth pulled the covers over both of them and was about to say goodnight again when she heard the soft, almost non-existent snoring.

She almost got up to get a towel and place it under him in case he had another accident, but didn't even finish that thought when her own slight snoring filled the air, matching William's.

* * *

Elizabeth woke up the next morning with a crick in her neck and an almost plunge off of her side of the bed. She had woken up several times during the night to move William back to his side of the bed after he had managed to slide right next to her side. But after every time she moved him, he would always end up right next to her and pushing her over closer to the side of the bed each time. She had finally given up and fell asleep with William practically on top of her.

Rolling slowly onto her back, trying to ease her stiff muscles, Elizabeth came to a start when she noticed William was no longer in bed with her and her apartment was way too silent.

She ran out of her room and came to a dead stop when she saw William in her living room, playing with a figurine on her coffee table. She was so grateful to get her heartbeat back to normal that it took her a moment to realize that he was playing with a one of a kind sculpture.

"William, put that down!" She had scared him by screaming so loud that he spun around and dropped the sculpture out of his tiny hands. Elizabeth cringed as she watched the sculpture fall to her floor but patted herself on the back for placing all of those pillows there the night before. She examined the sculpture and when she found that nothing was wrong with it, she sighed in relief.

She placed it on the highest shelf and when she turned around she let out a gasp at the state of her apartment. Toys from his bag, art pieces that she had for display and papers were scattered around her entire apartment.

She looked at William, saw his lip tremble and cursed her soft heart. She was never going to be able to discipline him.

But one thing was for sure, they were defiantly going to have to get a bigger place.

"Come on, let's get ready."

"Fo' what?"

"We're going apartment hunting."

* * *

"Ya know what?"

"No, what?"

"I dunno, I forgot."

Elizabeth sighed as she begged for a little more patience. They had been shopping for an apartment all morning and into the afternoon and she had still found nothing. And to top it off, William had picked the very aggravating day to return to his normal, talkative self.

They walked into what Elizabeth swore would be their last apartment building they visited for the day. She grabbed a hold of Williams hand when a group of very large and very nicely dressed men walked past them. She nodded her head in approval. Several businessmen were a sign that the apartment building had respectful residents.

After speaking with the leasing manager, another big man in a business suit, he showed her an empty two bedroom apartment. The apartment was perfect. The rooms were spacious, the living area could probably fit two of her living rooms, and the kitchen—even though she didn't cook—was made for a chef.

The building was in a good part of town, close enough to the pre-school William was registered for and her gallery. It was ideal, perfect, and way too much money.

"Thank you so much for your time but I don't think I can afford this."

The look on the handsome mans face showed his disappointment. Elizabeth couldn't figure out why, though. She smiled her thanks, but it quickly turned into a frown when the man just stood there, staring at her.

He wasn't the most informative leasing consultant; tended to fall over his words quite often, especially when looking directly at her. After some thought, she concluded that he must have been new to the job and disappointed that he wasn't able to sell the apartment to her.

Elizabeth grabbed William's small hand and began to walk to the entrance of the apartment building.

"Are we going to live here?" William asked.

"No."

"I like it."

"I know you do, I do, too." The disappointment of having to walk away from such an amazing apartment was clear in her voice.

"Then why can't we live here?"

"I don't have enough money."

"Then get more."

Elizabeth laughed at the simple logic of a four year old. It wasn't that she was poor or couldn't afford the apartment; it was just that she couldn't see herself spending that much each month. She looked down at William as she pushed open the door. She was about to explain the importance of money and how it was not easily obtained when she ran into a hard body.

A brick wall to be exact.

She stumbled back into the lobby of the building, pulling William with her. "I am so sorry, I wasn't looking where… I… was…going."

Elizabeth had to practically force the words out of her mouth once her gaze landed on the brick wall she ran into. He was the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on. Well at six-feet, his body filled the entrance of the door, his crystal blue eyes locked with hers, and his spiky hair seemed almost white as the sun behind him cast a halo around his head.

"Are you ok?" Oh God, his voice was even sexy. Husky and low, sending chills up her spine.

"Yeah… yes, I'm fine." She shook her head, trying with all her might to clear her haze. She must have hit her head against his rock hard chest too hard. William tugged on her hand, bringing her attention to him.

"I'm hungry."

"Ok." Looking back up at what had to be the sexiest man alive, Elizabeth smiled her embarrassment. "Again, I'm so sorry." She stood there for a moment, her embarrassment growing as he stared at her. William's grip on her hand tightened as he pulled on her arm. She gestured to the door, "Excuse me."

He blinked a couple of times, as if just realizing that he blocked her way and moved to the side, tipping his head at her as she passed. Elizabeth gave a small smile which seemed to grow bigger as she passed his friend that was standing behind him. The man held the door open for her, his dimples so deep and his smile so big, she couldn't help but smile in return. "Thank you."

"My pleasure."

Once they were down the sidewalk away from the building, Elizabeth looked down at William. "Ya know what?" She asked, using his favorite phrase he used many times on her that morning.

"No, what?"

"I think we might have found our new home." Suddenly, the price just didn't seem that important anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Jason felt a nudge against his shoulders before he realized he was standing there, staring at the pair that just left. He couldn't help it, couldn't help but stare at the woman and the gentle sway of her hips as she walked away.

She was beautiful.

Her eyes had caught him off guard when they first connected with his. Deep, large blue come-a-little-closer eyes that had him standing there, staring like an idiot.

Another nudge against his shoulders had him snapping his attention away from the two and walking fully into the apartment lobby. When he turned around, it was to see his best friend, Sonny, standing there, his hands on his hips, a large smile across his face.

"That," Sonny said, pointing towards the lobby entrance, "was _real_ smooth."

Jason glared at his friend before turning away and making his way towards the elevator that would bring him to his penthouse floor.

Sonny shook his head, trying but failing to keep the smile off his face and out of his tone. "Who was that?" He asked, directing his question to Max since the guard was the one who was showing the woman out when Sonny and Jason first walked in.

"She said her name was Elizabeth Webber. She was looking for an apartment for her and her kid."

Sonny covered his mouth to hide an amused smile when Jason stopped by the elevator, turning his head slightly to hear the conversation. "Well?" Sonny asked when Max didn't continue.

"Oh," the large man stood up straight, "She seemed to really like the place and was real disappointed when I told her the price of rent. I explained that security was," Max coughed into his hand, "real tight and was the reason for the extra cost. But she said it was more than she was looking to pay."

Max shook his head, looking quite disappointed himself. "I was _really_ hoping she would have decided to move here." When Jason turned around, Max gave him that sly smile that only males seemed to understand. "You should have seen the ass on that one. She could—."

"That's enough." The command was made in a low voice, but still had the power to make Max drop his hands he had been in the process of forming into cups to demonstrate the size of Elizabeth's backside.

Max turned a bright red, seeing the warning in Jason's expression.

Jason just stared at the guard, not knowing why he was becoming angry at the man for discussing this Elizabeth woman the way he had been. It wasn't the first time Max spoke about another woman in that way. Hell, every time they went out Max would find at least five women to comment about and Jason would sometimes join in. Max was an ass man and Elizabeth did have a nice one, one that Jason had admired himself. Why it bothered him that Max should say something about it, Jason didn't know.

But he _was_ annoyed and when he looked at Sonny and saw the smug smile on his face, he became even more annoyed. Where the hell was the damn elevator?

"Did the two of you discuss prices?" Sonny asked when it became obvious that Jason was just going to stand there and brood while Max turned redder by the second.

Clearing his throat, Max answered. "Yeah. What she's looking for is reasonable. But like I said, it's the security." Max finished off by whispering, as if the entire building didn't know that Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan, Port Charles most known _alleged _mobsters, owned the building.

An idea had Sonny smiling at Jason's back as he stepped into the elevator. "Let's lower the price." When Jason whipped around, Sonny was grinning from ear to ear. "This place could use more women."

* * *

"Daddy!"

Jason patiently sighed as he dropped the pen he was using on his desk. He was trying to get some last minute paperwork done—paperwork he should have had finished the night before, but didn't because his mind kept wandering to a petite, blue eyed brunette—before he had to bring his daughter to school, but the four year old was not letting him. Every five minutes she was screaming for him at the top of the stairs, acting more like a teenager then the little girl that she was.

He turned around in his chair, glancing up at the stairs to see Anna standing there, her eyes filled with tears. He was up the stairs and kneeling in front of her within seconds. "What's wrong?"

Her lower lip trembled. "I got toothpaste on...on…" her breathing became erratic as a tear slipped past her long lashes, "on my shirt." She rushed out as she threw her arms around her father's neck, almost choking him.

"Ok." His forehead creased into a frown, "We'll just get you another shirt to wear."

Her hands tightened in his hair as she mumbled against his neck. "But I wanna wear this one."

Jason pulled back to look at her. There was a huge blue stain in the middle of her favorite pink top. He, being the man that he was and having no idea how to fix that, tried to think of some way to get her into another shirt. "I know you want to wear that one, but it's time to go to your first day of preschool and there's nothing we can do about your shirt right now."

Her chin began to tremble as her big brown eyes, eyes so much like her mothers, filled with more tears. "Anna," Jason sighed, using the patient tone he always used with her. "You were looking so forward to going to school last night. Do you really want to be late because of a shirt?"

Her eyes lowered to the floor. "No."

He stood up, smiling down at his little girl. He held out his hand which she grabbed right away. "Let's get you another shirt and then we'll be on our way to school."

And just as quickly as her eyes filled with tears moments before, her pout turned into a huge smile, melting her father's heart like she always did. "O'tay daddy, but you gotta do something with my hair."

* * *

"What do you mean he can't go to school?"

"Just like I said, you didn't fill out all of the appropriate paperwork, which means he is not fully registered."

Jason paused as he walked into the school's front office, hearing the argument that was going on. The irate mother stomped her foot when the woman behind the counter shrugged her shoulders while speaking. Normally, he would have just continued to walk on by and ignore the conversation, but something had him pausing, listening to what was going on.

When his gaze traveled over the woman standing there in her high-heeled shoes, from the bottom of her pointed heel, up her long, smooth legs, to her very shapely…

Ass.

Even though she was wearing a skirt, instead of the shapely jeans she was wearing the day before, Jason knew who she was before his gaze traveled the rest of the way up, seeing her profile.

It was Elizabeth Webber.

How he did it, he didn't know, but he tore his gaze away from her to see her son, sitting on one of the office chairs, staring at his feet as they swung back and forth. He frowned when a while went by and she still hadn't glanced at the boy.

Elizabeth's angry, yet saddened, voice filtered through his thoughts.

"I'm sorry all of the paperwork hasn't been finished, but my sister was a little too busy dying to get everything in order."

Jason's eyes traveled to the little boy and then back to Elizabeth to see her turn her head and glance down at her… son?... nephew? There was sadness in her eyes that did something funny to Jason.

Elizabeth's shoulders slumped as she looked at William's dejected expression. She hadn't meant to blurt that out, especially in front of him. But, damn it, why couldn't they just let him go to school today and she would bring the paperwork tomorrow?

She turned back to the lady behind the desk—Ms. Epiphany Johnson—and tried to reason with her in a more polite manner. "Couldn't he just go to school today and I promise you that I'll bring the notarization tomorrow?"

Epiphany's expression softened, but before she even spoke, Elizabeth knew what she was going to say. "I'm sorry Miss Webber; I know this has to be hard on you—"

"You have no idea."

"But I cannot allow William to go to class today if I do not have the proper paperwork."

Elizabeth sighed, dropping her forehead into her palm. What was she going to do now? She was supposed to meet with a major client today, someone who was so close to financing one of the shows Elizabeth was planning. She couldn't meet with him with a four year old attached to her hip.

She could leave William with Brenda, her assistant, but the woman had made it more than clear that she couldn't handle children.

Not like Elizabeth could either, but that's what happens when you have a crazy sister that thinks she can save your life from the grave.

Just as Elizabeth was straightening up, a large hand rested on her shoulder, causing an unnatural heat to wash through her entire body. She only became hotter when she looked up to see the man standing next to her.

It was the same man she ran into yesterday.

He briefly looked down at her, a small smile across his _very_ gorgeous mouth, before he looked up at Epiphany. He removed his hand from Elizabeth's shoulder to lean both of his hands on the desk.

Epiphany pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes as they connected with Jason's. "How are you today, Mr. Morgan?"

"I'm good, how about yourself."

She didn't answer, but her lips did grow bigger as they pushed out more.

The side of Jason's mouth threatened to curve upwards, but he fought it off. It would not do good to smile at the lady. "I couldn't help but overhear what was going on."

Epiphany's reply was an "mmhmm," as Elizabeth just stood there, staring up at him and not knowing what the hell to do.

Jason looked down at Elizabeth and once again, she was mesmerized by his ocean blue eyes. They were the perfect shade of blue. Not too light but not dark at all. Eyes she could get lost in.

She shook her head, what in the world was wrong with her?

"I know a place right around the corner that will notarize this for you." He said, and then turned his attention back towards Epiphany. "Do you think you could let William go to class while she gets this filled out so he doesn't miss anything?"

Elizabeth watched in amazement as Epiphany narrowed her eyes even more at the man standing next to her—Mr. Morgan as the woman called him—and then looked left, right, and left again before giving a slight nod of her head.

Epiphany gave Elizabeth a knowing look before handing the paperwork that had caused the problem in the first place back to her. She gave the woman a genuine smile before looking up at the man, her smile growing bigger.

The smile she gave him stole the breath right out of his lungs. Jason wasn't prone to such things happening to him, but her smile made her all the more beautiful.

"Thank you so much…?"

"Jason."

"Thank you, Jason." An awkward silence came over the two of them before Epiphany cleared her throat, causing the two of them to look away from each other. The older woman was pointing at William, who was staring up at Jason and Elizabeth with an inquiring look. Elizabeth walked towards him, held out her hand.

Without hesitation, William put his small hand in hers; leaping down from the chair he was sitting in. He looked up at Jason when Elizabeth began to talk to him. "Can you wait here while I walk him to class? I'll be right back."

Before Jason could answer, Epiphany was walking around her desk and towards William and Elizabeth. "You better hurry and get all your paperwork done; I'll walk William to class."

William quickly let go of Elizabeth's hand and ran towards Epiphany. He was chatting away to the woman before they even began to walk away. "Bye, William, have a good day." Elizabeth called out to him.

He looked over his shoulder, gave Elizabeth a huge smile and waved his hand back and forth quickly. "Bye, Aunt Ewizabet."

Epiphany stopped, turned and gave Jason a look. "Say hello to Stanford for me."

Slowly, as if remembering that she was standing there alone with Jason, Elizabeth turned around, giving him a polite smile. "Thank you again for saving me. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up."

"It's not a problem."

"So I take it you know Epiphany?" She asked, trying to figure out how he was so easily able to convince the intimidating woman to let William go to school. If it had been Elizabeth behind the desk, she would have let Jason do anything just due to his looks. But she didn't think Epiphany was so easily swayed by a handsome face.

"Her son Stan works for me."

"Well, it's a good thing." She gave a little nervous laugh. Clearing her throat, she shifted on her heels. "So, umm, where was this place you were talking about. I kind of have to get to work." Oh, God, she hoped she didn't sound too impatient. Why was it that she was so nervous around this man?

"It's just around the corner, I'll walk you."

"Oh, no, you don't have to. I—"

Jason bent his head, looked away as if embarrassed. "I wanted to talk…" he cleared his throat, and Elizabeth began to wonder if there was a slight blush rising on his cheeks. "I wanted to talk to you. About the apartment you looked at yesterday."

"Oh?" She asked, not moving when he opened the door for her.

Jason sensed her hesitation, realizing that he sounded very much like a stalker. "My friend Sonny and I own the building."

"Oh." Elizabeth smiled, quickly getting over that slight weirdness. "It's a lovely place." She commented as she followed him out of the school and onto the side walk.

Jason placed his hands inside his pants pockets when his arm brushed hers, feeling quite uncomfortable and like a teenager. He was a grown man but, yet, he was acting like some nervous boy. "I like it."

When Elizabeth just nodded and gave another polite smile, Jason tried again. "Max told us that it was more than you were willing to pay."

Elizabeth went to tell him that she had decided to go with the apartment anyway, for the security of course—she added to herself—but Jason continued on.

"We're willing to work with you, to go with the price that you and Max talked about."

Elizabeth stopped, causing Jason to stop and turn to look down at her. "Why are you helping me?" She blurted out, so confused as to why he was helping her so much.

First William and now this?

He had no idea. He was going to let Sonny deal with the apartment issue, but for some reason, maybe an excuse to walk with her, Jason had decided to bring it up. It just sucked that he was screwing up so bad.

He shrugged his shoulders, cleared his throat. "It was really Sonny's idea. Max told him how disappointed you were, and Sonny figured he'd help you out."

Elizabeth's forehead scrunched in confusion. "Ok." She began to walk again, prompting Jason back in motion. They walked in silence until he gestured to a building.

"This is it." He stuffed his hands into his pockets, took them out again. "I, uh, should probably get your number." At Elizabeth's raised eyebrows, he rushed out, "To call you about the apartment."

She had already given Max her number, something Jason probably already knew, considering his uncomfortable stance. The side of her mouth curved up, what the hell?

Pulling out a pen and a gum wrapper from her purse, Elizabeth scribbled down her number. Her smile was soft as she handed it to him. "Thank you, for everything."

Their fingers brushed as Jason took the small paper from her. Both paused, glanced down at their hands, then slowly pulled away. His smile was just as gentle as hers as he nodded his head once, then began to walk away.

It was her voice that stopped him.

"Jason?" He turned around. "What grade is your kid in?"

She didn't know why she stopped him, but for some reason she did. And the only thing she could think of was to ask him about his kid.

"She's in preschool, Mrs. Jones class."

Elizabeth smiled, "So is William." She shifted from one foot to the other, her smile becoming more forced. "I guess I'll be seeing you around then."

"Yeah," Jason tipped his head. "See you later."

* * *

Elizabeth rushed into her gallery, walking past her personal assistant without evening looking at her. After getting William's paperwork notarized and dropping it off at his school, she rushed to the gallery, thanking her lucky stars that his school was so close. It really was a pain to get him up a half hour earlier just to make it to school on time. If all worked out, they would be moving into the apartment building that was only a block away.

She threw her purse on the desk, ripped off her jacket and adjusted her skirt. Brenda quickly followed her into the office, a cup of coffee in one hand, offering it to Elizabeth, while her other hand ran through Elizabeth's hair, fixing it.

"Is he angry?" Elizabeth asked after one _long _sip of her coffee.

"Not really." Brenda shrugged. "Lucky's been keeping him pretty busy." Her hand fluttered in the air. "You know how gay men are, they get together in a room and the time flies by. I think Lucky scored himself a date for Friday night."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the mention of her other best friend. Lucky, Brenda, and Elizabeth were like inseparable. They worked, went out, exercised, basically did everything together. Where you would find one, you usually found the other two.

She was going to have to take Lucky out for a drink for stalling for her. She knew how temperamental Jasper Jacks could be when he was caused to wait. She was just thankful Lucky was there to keep him distracted.

She placed her coffee down after one last sip, giving it a longing look as she walked towards the meeting room where she would pitch her idea to Jasper until the man agreed to fund the project.

Maybe she would keep Lucky in there, just as an incentive, she thought. Walking into the room, she smiled at both men, and got right down to business.

It was only two hours later when Jasper walked out of the gallery, a dent in his pocket and Lucky's phone number in the other.

Walking up to Lucky, Elizabeth gave her best friend a loud kiss on the cheek. "You are wonderful." She emphasized each word with one sloppy kiss after another.

"I should be thanking you." Lucky said, pulling away and smacking his lips together. "I've wanted to get his number since he came here last month."

"Congratulations to the both of you." Brenda said with a sarcastic tone. "Elizabeth got the deal, Lucky got a hot man, and I got… nothing. It really is unfair how the both of you always win."

Elizabeth gave her friend a sympathetic look. "The date didn't go so well last night?"

"Are you kidding me? He was a freaking moron. All he did the entire night was talk about himself and look at my chest."

Lucky walked behind Brenda, pushing her into a chair, and began to massage her shoulders. "Did you wear the red top with the—"

"Yes." She sighed.

"I warned you." Lucky tsked.

"Who would take advice from a gay man about straight men?"

"I would." Elizabeth reluctantly stated.

"If you would take his advice, then Patrick Drake wouldn't be in your life right now." Brenda shot back, giving her friend a knowing look. Both Lucky and Brenda had told her over and over that Patrick was not right for her, even though she told _them_ over and over that they weren't in a serious relationship.

Just friends… with benefits.

Lucky nodded his head, looking over his shoulder when he heard the door to the front of the gallery open. His gaze turned back towards Elizabeth, his eyes rolling heavenward. "Speaking of the devil."

Brenda raised a single eyebrow. "Are you going to tell him about William?"

She bit her lip. "Of course, just… not right this second."

"How are things working out?" Lucky asked with a sympathetic tilt to his head.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him, saying between clenched teeth. "I'm not going to talk about this right now."

"Want me to get rid of him?" Brenda asked with a gleam in her eyes.

"Stop it." Elizabeth ordered, and then put on a smile when Patrick reached them. "Hey."

"Hello yourself, beautiful." He said, wrapping an arm around her waist and giving her a long kiss. When they pulled away, he gave both of her friends a smug look, knowing that neither one of them liked him.

Brenda stuck her tongue out at him, causing him to chuckle. Lucky blew him a kiss, causing him to stop smiling all together.

Elizabeth, hating that her friends couldn't get along, turned Patrick's attention back to her by placing her hand on his chest. "What are you doing here?"

Patrick gave her a charming smile, the same smile that drew her to him when they first met almost a year ago. "I thought I'd take my favorite girl out to lunch."

Brenda kicked her leg, causing Elizabeth to give her friend a stern look before smiling back up at Patrick. "I'd love to go."

It would be as perfect time as any to let him know about William.

And she dreaded it more than anything.


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry about the delay. Moving into my apartment and getting back to school really took up a lot of my time. Anyway, thank you all for your replies and enjoy!_

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* * *

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**Chapter Four**

Her hand clenched around the fork she held in her hand as his mouth teased her throat. She was grateful they were sitting in the back of the restaurant in a dark corner so none of the other lunch customers could see them. At one time she didn't care about the public display; she would be too caught up in kissing him back to care. But there was something about becoming a…mother—she tried to use the term as loosely as possible—that changed that.

She was responsible for someone else now and had to have a respectful appearance.

Somehow, acting like a couple of fifteen year olds making out in the back booth didn't seem too respectful to Elizabeth.

"Pat…" clearing her throat as he nibbled her throat, she tried again. "Patrick, I need to talk to you."

"Talking is overrated." He muttered against her neck, running his lips up to her chin.

She grabbed his hand that was rubbing her stomach and placed it on the table top with a thud, holding it tight when he tried to move it back. Despite her trying to make him stop, she tilted her head to the side, giving him more access to her throat. The man really was wonderful with his mouth.

Coming to her senses, she pulled away, turning her head to face him and finally get it over with only to have his lips cover hers. She gave herself a little time with the kiss, telling herself that it couldn't hurt to stall a little longer, then pulled back. "I really—"

His mouth covered her words.

She pulled back again, placed her hand on his chest to push him away. "I really need to tell you something."

Sighing, Patrick sat back. "You know, when a man is trying to kiss a beautiful woman, it's terribly rude to interrupt him."

Elizabeth smiled at his pitying look then straightened her clothes. When she was in order she began to play with her silverware, took a sip of her water. She couldn't seem to come right out and say that William was living with her now. She knew this was going to be hard, but, damn, she didn't think it was going to be impossible.

Patrick was a man who was set in his ways. A very successful surgeon, ladies man extraordinaire, he had a comfortable life and made it clear that he didn't like changes. Though they weren't an official "couple" Elizabeth knew that he wasn't seeing anyone else, and neither was she. They could, but they just…didn't. Any title scared the both of them to death, though. Neither liked the word commitment.

She liked what she had with Patrick; a very attractive and successful man whom she had a fun time with and great sex with. They had a good thing going and something as small as William could turn Patrick away.

Elizabeth frowned at the thought. For some reason she didn't like that the idea of Patrick being that shallow over someone she loved so much. It must be the tiny motherly side coming out of her, she thought. Having to take care of someone so small changed one's priorities a bit.

She wondered how he was doing in class.

"Elizabeth?"

Patrick's voice broke her out of her concentration. "Hmm?"

He smiled. "If you're done glaring at your water, I'd like to get back to making your toes curl."

Oh yeah, she added, Patrick was also very arrogant.

"Some… things have changed in my life since I last saw you." She started, trying to tread lightly at first.

"Like…?"

"I'm a mother," So much for treading lightly.

"What?" He demanded. "We've been careful, there's no way!"

"Patrick, calm down."

"Calm down? You want me to calm down after you dump that on my plate. How—"

"Shut up and listen." She snapped. Man, she never thought she would see such an arrogant, carefree man panic so much. It made her smile because he lost his cool but it also irritated her because he was reacting the way he was. "I said it wrong. You know what happened to my sister."

"Yes." He placed his hand over hers, his eyes turning from panicked to concern. "I'm still sorry I couldn't be there for you during the funeral.

Not wanting to talk about the awful day, Elizabeth just nodded. "I met with her lawyer the other day. It turns out that… that she changed her Will and left custody of her son to me."

He stared blankly at her.

"I've told you about William." At least she thought she did. "He's my nephew and since both of his parents died, I'm now his guardian."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Believe me," she sighed. "I would not joke about this."

Patrick looked away, took a long drink from his water. He was still looking away from her when he finally spoke minutes later. "So you're saddled with a kid now."

Her tone was short, angry that he would phrase her situation with William that way. "I'm not saddled with him, I'm his family and since Sarah was my sister, it's my responsibility to take care of her son since she can't."

"Don't you have any other sisters?"

"You know that Sarah was my only sister."

"For God's sake, Elizabeth, I'm just trying to digest this. You don't have to snap at me. Didn't her husband have any relatives?"

"You know what; I knew you wouldn't take this the right way." She began to slide out of the booth when he grabbed her arm to stop her.

"I'm just trying to figure this all out. You're the one who told me how you and your sister didn't get along. I'm trying to understand why she would leave her kid to you. You're a young business woman who likes to party and isn't ready for a child."

"Yeah, well, things happen that are beyond anyone's control and I'm just trying to get through this. I had some hope that I could talk to you, but I guess—"

"You _can_ talk to me." He interrupted. "I'm just… shocked." He tugged her closer to him, gave her his killer smile. "I guess that means no more spontaneous sex then, huh?"

Despite her earlier anger she smiled. "Yeah. I got another apartment that's closer to my Gallery and William's school. We should be moving in this weekend."

He used her thumb to nudge her chin up for his lowering lips. "This way you'll be closer to me as well. Things don't have to change too much; you'll just have to hire a babysitter for the kid when we go out." He signaled the waitress for their check, missing Elizabeth's confused look.

William, she thought, the kids name was William.

But, some how, she felt that Patrick would never say his name.

Maybe… maybe everything _would_ change.

* * *

Jason spent most of his day thinking about a leggy brunette with the most incredible…

Feeling like he was being watched, Jason looked up from his desk to see Sonny standing in the open doorway of his office.

Damn, he thought, he didn't even hear the door open. He had to stop thinking about her.

"What's wrong with you?" Sonny asked as he strolled in and sat down in one of the chairs Jason had told Sonny he didn't need when they were first brought in months ago.

"Nothing."

Tilting his head to the side, Sonny placed his ankle on his bent knee, leaned back as he studied Jason.

"No… you've got something on your mind."

"It's been too quiet." Jason answered after scrubbing his hands over his face.

Sonny didn't think that was the reason he walked in to see Jason brooding over the same piece of paper for five minutes, but he let it slide. For now. "Nothing's been going on."

"It just doesn't feel right." Jason answered, his eyes narrowed. "When it's quiet like this, when no one makes a move against us… that usually means their planning something big. I think Alcazar has something going on. He's never been this quiet before."

Trusting Jason's instincts, Sonny nodded his head. It was unusual when their enemy was this quiet. "Find out what you can." When Jason nodded, Sonny moved on. "How was Anna when you dropped her off this morning?"

Smiling over the mention of his daughter, Jason's shoulders relaxed. "She was really excited. She couldn't find anything to wear and was practically skipping on our walk over. When we walked into her classroom she left me right away. I thought she forgot about me and was going to leave when she yelled at me and gave me a hug." He laughed. "Then she was off again."

His daughter humbled him. Every time he looked at her, thought about her, he wanted to keep her close and never let her go. But she was growing up on him, too fast for his taste, and already in school. He just prayed that he could keep her safe like he promised her mother he would.

Sighing, Jason shook his thoughts away from Anna's mother; it was too painful to think about her.

"I… uh, I saw Elizabeth Webber today. It turns out her nephew is in the same class with Anna."

"Her nephew?" Sonny's forehead wrinkled. "I thought that was her son, he looks just like her."

"Yeah, from what I heard with her conversation with Epiphany, her sister died and now Elizabeth has custody of William."

"Oh man. That's got to be hard. This happen recently?"

Jason nodded. "I looked it up and her sister and the husband were on their way back from a Charity party when a drunk driver side swiped them. The husband died instantly, but Sarah—her sister—died on the way to the hospital. It happened a week ago."

"Damn." Sonny hissed out a breath. "We should call her about the apartment, the less she has to worry about… the…. What?"

Clearing his throat, Jason shifted in his seat. "I…I already talked to her about that. I told her what you offered and she's willing to take it. She should be moving in this weekend." At Sonny's large smile, Jason shifted again. "What?"

"You told her about my offer?"

"Yeah, and I got her number so we could give her a call to finalize everything."

Sonny couldn't hold back any longer and began to laugh. "Oh man, I haven't been a wing man in a long time."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Hell, man, if I knew you still needed me to get a woman's phone number I would have—"

"Shut the fuck up, Sonny. I didn't need you to get Elizabeth's phone number. I didn't even get it for me." He lied, shifted when he realized he was lying. "I got it so you could call her."

Wiping at invisible tears, Sonny straightened. "Alright, what's her number?"

When Jason began to recite the number without even looking at a piece of paper, Sonny began to laugh again.

"Fuck you, Sonny."

* * *

"By the look on your face, I'm assuming it didn't go too well."

"You know what happens when you assume, Lucky?"

"I was right." He clucked his tongue. Cupping Elizabeth's face, he spoke to her as if she were a child. "Tell me all about it."

Swatting his hands away, Elizabeth scowled at him then stormed to her office, Brenda and Lucky following right behind.

"It went how I expected."

"Honey, you're going to have to elaborate a little more." Brenda said, placing her hands on her hips. "We didn't know what you expected."

"If you'd let me talk—"

"That bad, huh?" Lucky mused.

"Oh for the love of—"

Brenda nodded her head at Lucky. "We told you he was going to disappoint you. Patrick Drake is a womanizer and can not be trusted."

"I'm going to ignore you right now because I know you're still bitter over your date last night, but it didn't go as bad as you guys think." Elizabeth sighed, finally able to finish a thought.

"Then what's with the upset face?"

Looking at Lucky, Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm not upset and I don't have an upset face."

"Yes you do." He perked up, Brenda nodding in agreement. "Your forehead creases and your lips form a pout. You're doing it right now."

Stomping her foot, Brenda shifted the focus to what she thought was more important. "So… what happened? And don't give me a half fast answer."

Sighing, Elizabeth rubbed her forehead.

"She's doing the stress face now."

Ignoring Lucky, Elizabeth answered Brenda. "He was upset at first, he actually thought I was pregnant because of the way I said it."

"I bet he didn't take that too well." Brenda muttered, followed by Lucky pursing his lips with an "mmhmm."

Still ignoring them, she continued. "When he finally understood what I meant, he didn't seem too happy. But after we talked about it for a while, he seemed to… accept it."

"You say that like he had to accept a suede green jacket. And we all know how horrible he looks in green."

"Lucky…"

"Sorry."

"No you're not." When he shrugged, she continued. "I don't know. I think it's a lot to take in. I mean, I'm not even used to the idea. I can't blame him for being a little standoffish about the idea. Anyway, like I said, he seemed ok with it in the end."

"Honey, it's just the beginning."

Elizabeth knew Lucky was right but couldn't comment because her phone rang. Everyone looked at the phone and when Elizabeth finally raised her eyebrows at Brenda, the assistant caught on.

"Guess I should do my job."

"It's what I pay you for."

Before she lifted the phone, Brenda scowled at Elizabeth. "Don't have to be a bitch to me because Patrick is a prick." She lifted the phone before Elizabeth could shoot back and answered in her cheery voice.

There was a slight pause before she spoke again. "And who is calling?"

Placing her hand over the mouth piece of the phone, Brenda raised a single eyebrow. "A Jason Morgan for you."

Elizabeth snatched the phone before questions could be asked.

She gestured to the door with her head, hoping Brenda and Lucky would take the hint. They sat down on her plush office chairs.

Sighing, Elizabeth placed the phone to her ear. "This is Elizabeth."

"_Hey, Elizabeth, it's Jason, I uh, I was calling about the apartment."_

Thinking something was wrong and she wasn't going to get it, Elizabeth sat forward. "Yes? Is everything ok? Did your friend change his mind?"

"_No, no." Jason reassured, "Everything's fine. I was just calling to see if you wanted to move in this weekend?"_

"That would be great." She sighed, sitting back now that she didn't have to worry.

"_I…" he cleared his throat. "I could send a couple of guys over to help you move. That way you don't have to worry about hiring anyone."_

"That would be really sweet." She smiled. "Thank you."

"_It's no problem."_

She could practically hear the blush in his voice. It was somewhat… arousing to know that she could cause him to blush. For such a strong looking man, Jason was really a cute, yet incredibly hot, man.

It was sweet and different and she couldn't wait to see him again.

"_I'll just set that up and give you a call with the details."_

"Thanks." When she hung up the phone she could just feel the two pairs of eyes on her, waiting for an explanation. Wanting to make them suffer some more, Elizabeth tapped a finger to her mouth, smiled when she heard Brenda's disgusted grunt and Lucky's impatient sigh.

"So…" They said at the same time.

Her look was one of innocence and question. "So… what?"

"Oh don't give us that." Brenda scolded. "Who was the hottie on the phone?"

"How do you know he's hot?"

"For one, his voice could make any woman's knees go weak, and secondly, you're smiling like an idiot."

"His name is Jason Morgan…"

"We know that already."

"… and he is the co-owner of the building that I am going to be moving into. His daughter also happens to be in William's class."

"So he's taken?" Lucky asked in disappointment.

"No, he's not taken. At least, I don't think he is. He wasn't wearing a ring and I could have sworn, in his own cute way, he was flirting with me."

"Taken men always flirt."

Elizabeth gave Brenda a knowing look. "This was different. I don't think he would try anything if he's taken, especially since I'm going to be living in the same building with him." She paused for a moment. "Dammit, now you guys are making me nervous with this. What if he is taken?"

"Well, you're sort of taken, too."

"Lucky, how many times do I have to tell you that I am not _with_ Patrick?"

"Whatever."

"Anyway, Jason's the big, strong and silent type. Sexy as hell."

"You get all the luck." Brenda and Lucky said at the same time.

"Hey." She pointed a finger at Lucky. "Did you not just get a date with Jasper today?"

Smiling, Lucky blushed. "Yeah, I did."

"And you," Elizabeth pointed her finger at Brenda, "You will have your day very soon."

"Yeah, right." Sitting again, she rested her elbows on her knees, cupped her chin with her hands. "But in the meantime, tell me more about this sexy man."

"He's just… sexy. He's got the most incredible eyes I have ever seen, I'd love to paint him one day. His body would make your last boyfriend jealous…"

"Oh, now I'm really jealous." Brenda sighed; remembering the last guy she dated loved his body as much as she did. If Jason's was better, Elizabeth was one lucky bitch.

"And he's really sweet and shy. I don't know if he's always like that, but he was really shy with me and I found it endearing."

"That's it, you are one lucky bitch."

"You sure are." Lucky agreed.

"All I know is that I am going to _really_ love living there. And not because of the beautiful apartment or area."

Yeah, she thought, she was really going to love it there.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

It was like they developed a routine.

It started on Tuesday. Elizabeth was running late dropping William off at school again and Jason was just leaving Anna's classroom when the two went rushing down the hallway. She didn't have much time to say much but just smile at Jason as William tugged her along, anxious to get to his second day of class and introduce her to his teacher.

The poor woman was surrounded by four year olds, each wanting to talk to her at once, wanting her attention. She handled them with the most patience Elizabeth had ever seen, all the while holding a conversation with her.

When she left the classroom, Jason was standing there, waiting for her. He stammered a little when Elizabeth smiled at him and asked if he was following her. She found it so refreshing to mess with him a little bit, to talk to a man who was so gorgeous but didn't have an arrogance about him.

He offered to walk her to work and that was where their routine took place.

Everyday, Elizabeth and William would rush into class and Jason would wait for her and then walk her to work. She protested at first, saying that The Gallery was just around the corner and she could make it on her own, but he just shook his head and continued to walk with her.

Their walks started out uncomfortable, filled with awkward silence. But as the week progressed and Jason started to feel less uneasy around her, the silence became comfortable. When they talked, it was about the kids and how much they loved school, or about her moving in that weekend.

He never came inside The Gallery which was probably for the better since Brenda and Lucky stood right by the front door waiting for them ever since they saw her walk up with Jason the first day. Elizabeth was surprised they didn't find some way to hang around outside to meet Jason. But she was glad for it, knowing that they would most likely embarrass the hell out of her, just for fun.

It was nice to walk with Jason everyday, getting to know him little by little. It was even better to annoy Brenda and Lucky when they would bombard her with questions and she would ignore them or just shrug her shoulders with a smug smile on her lips. She would cave soon and tell them everything since she couldn't hold it in much longer, but she enjoyed their agony too much to spoil her fun just yet.

She was just leaving work to pick William up when she got to enjoy her friend's agony one last time before the weekend began.

"If you don't tell me what is going on between you and that drop dead gorgeous man before you leave, I will take your favorite pair of stilettos and burn them."

"You won't be able to, Lucky, since you love them more than I do."

He narrowed his eyes. "They make your legs look ten times longer and are your sexiest pair, but I am at my breaking point, Elizabeth. I'm willing to sacrifice the heels."

Brenda gasped, holding a hand to her heart. "Don't make him do it. You know he'll spend the entire weekend listening to Kelly Clarkson as he eats through his junk food drawer if he has to destroy them."

"I'm going to have to restock my drawer since I've been going through it like crazy trying to figure out what's been going on with you and the muscle man." Lucky pouted at Elizabeth.

She just laughed. "You too seriously need some help."

"You're going to need help when I tell you that I ripped the skirt you let me borrow."

Elizabeth's eyes widened at Brenda. "You didn't."

"I will if you don't give us some information, dammit."

It was fun while it lasted, she thought. "Nothing is going on between me and Jason. He's only been walking me to work after we both drop off the kids at school."

"That," Lucky's eyes widened, "… that is _the_ Jason?"

"I knew it!" Brenda cheered. "A man with that sexy of a voice had to look that good."

Lucky was still gaping at Elizabeth when she laughed over her friends antics. "Yes, well, now you know."

"Why the hell have you been making us suffer all week?" Lucky asked his eyes still as wide as saucers.

Elizabeth flipped her hair, "Because it was fun." She laughed on her way out the door.

"Do you think he's only been walking her here everyday?" Brenda asked with a wiggle of her eyebrows once Elizabeth was gone.

"Probably." Lucky answered, finally over his shock. "But you know our little Lizzie. If she wants him, she'll get him eventually.

"True. But I have this funny feeling that if Elizabeth does set her sites on Jason, its going to be completely different from Patrick." Brenda's eyes began to shine as a thought crossed her mind. "What if Jason is just what Elizabeth needs to get away from that dirt bag Drake?"

"That's a great notion, but Elizabeth doesn't _want_ to get away from Patrick."

"Yeah, well, she's full of flaws. But this Jason could just be the answer. We," she gestured to Lucky and back to her with her hand, "have to encourage her all that we can, without making it too obvious. The woman is stubborn as hell and if she thinks wanting to be with Jason isn't her idea, she'll nix it right away."

"Where do we start?"

"By finding out all we can about Jason Morgan."

* * *

"And then she gave me 'tis sticker and told me that I was a good helper."

Elizabeth smiled down at William as she held her hand up for a cab. A frustrated breath hissed between her teeth when the cab kept going. This was one thing she wasn't going to miss about moving out of her apartment. Being a woman who didn't own a car, let alone know how to drive a car, she depended on cabs, especially since she lived to far away to walk. But now that she was moving closer to The Gallery, taking a cab every morning would no longer be needed.

She felt a throbbing begin behind her left eye when another cab passed her and William.

"…and then she gave me the blue crayon because Tommy wouldn't give me his."

So caught up in trying to get a cab and not a headache, Elizabeth hadn't been paying attention to William. "Who gave you the crayon?"

William huffed out a breath, annoyed that his aunt wasn't paying attention to him. "_Anna_ gave it to me. I like her, even though she's a girl."

He said that with such disgust Elizabeth couldn't hold back her laugh. Her hand went up to signal another cab, but her attention was directed on William. "You know, I'm a girl, too."

"But that's ok 'cause I love you."

Elizabeth stared down at William, her hand dropping from signaling the cab to rest on his head. He looked up at her, his little face scrunched in confusion. "I love you, too."

"You getting in or what?"

Her head whipped up to see a cab right in front of her, the driver giving her an irritated look. She was just about to get in when an all too familiar voice spoke up from behind.

"No they're not. I'll give them a ride home."

Elizabeth couldn't even protest as the cab sped off. She turned around to frown at the man behind her. "Why would you send my ride home away?"

Jason smirked. "I'll give you a ride home."

"Jason, you don't—"

"How are you going to get home?"

"Fine." She sighed. "William, you remember… hey! That's not nice."

William sucked his tongue back into his mouth, pouting because Anna still had hers hanging out of her mouth at him. It wasn't fair that he got in trouble so he stuck his tongue out again until his aunt tugged on his arm.

"Anna." At the sound of her father's voice, Anna sucked her tongue back into her mouth looking up at him to give him a sweet smile. He only titled his head, making her stick out her bottom lip and looking down at her feet.

Quickly over getting in trouble for making faces at a girl, William tugged on Elizabeth's hand. "I'm hungry."

"Ok, well get something once we get home."

"I was, ah…" Jason tugged on his ear, "I was going to take Anna to Pete's Pizza if you two want to come."

"Pizza!" Two little voices shouted at the same time.

"Oh… I-I don't know."

"Come on," Jason urged. "The kid's are already excited about it."

Elizabeth looked down at William, his face full of joy. Her gaze traveled to Anna, who, a minute ago was sticking her tongue out at her nephew, but was now dancing around with him shouting about pizza. When her gaze lifted back to Jason's, there was a knowing smirk on his face.

A long sighed escaped her. "Pete's Pizza it is."

* * *

Half an hour later, stomach full, head pounding from the loud music and loud children, Elizabeth sat with Jason and watched as the children ran around the inside playground.

Did every kid's joint have a damn playground in their establishment? Elizabeth thought disgustingly. What she wouldn't give for a little quiet time, going to dinner in a restaurant that didn't have kids running around. But that was impossible, she reminded herself, she couldn't go where kids didn't go since she had one of her own now.

God, she was never going to get used to that, used to having William around.

Shifting in his seat, Jason kept his eyes on the children but leaned towards Elizabeth so he wouldn't have to yell. "Are you ready to move in tomorrow?"

She focused in on his profile—a very nice profile. "Just about. I hate to leave my place, I love it, but I'm looking forward to moving into a new apartment. William can't wait to get his own room." And neither could she since William always managed to crawl into her bed at night, and then on top of her. She lost count of the times she fell out of bed after being pushed closer and closer to the edge by the kicking sleeper.

He smiled when he heard Anna giggle followed by William. "They get along really well." When Elizabeth frowned, Jason pointed to the kids. "It's good that their friends," If was Jason's turn to frown. "Anna doesn't have a lot of friends."

"Why? She's such a sweet girl."

Feeling uncomfortable about the subject, and blaming himself for Anna's lack of friends, Jason shifted again. "It's got to do more with the parents than the kids."

Her forehead creased in confusion. "I'm not following."

"Parent's don't want their kids playing with my daughter because she's _my_ daughter."

"What? You mean to tell me you're not President of the PTA?" When she was the only one laughing at her sarcasm, Elizabeth sobered. She didn't understand what the other parents had against Jason or his daughter, she hoped to find out in time, but _she_ had nothing against him. Seeing that the subject upset him, she put her hand on top of his. "It looks to me like Anna's got herself a friend. And you never have to worry about me not letting William around her, I happen to like her dad."

Jason let his gaze leave the children for a moment as he looked at Elizabeth. Her touch had startled him at first, but when he looked into her eyes, he could see she meant it. His eyes were soft, warm. Turning his hand over, he grasped hers, gently squeezed. "Thanks."

The children picked that moment to come charging at the two of them, smiles plastered on their faces from ear to ear. "Did you see tat?" William jumped up and down. "I flew down the slide! I went so fast." He was so excited he was gasping for breath.

"And… and… and" Not to be outdone, Anna tugged on both of the adults hands. "I went down second, and I went faster than he did."

"Nah-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"I guess you two are just going to have to go down again and we'll time you to see who's faster." Jason suggested in a patient manner. She didn't know how he did it, for she was about to slam her head against the table at their bickering.

Patience, she reminded herself, all she needed was some patience.

Jason stood at the bottom of the small plastic slide, waiting for the two of them to come down. William was first, then Anna. Elizabeth could see that Anna went a little faster than William but Jason only shook his head, looked serious for a moment.

"It's a tie." Jason smiled. "You're both really fast."

It was a lie, but she could see that it was a good one when both children smiled angelic smiles. When William jumped up to slap Jason's hand, she wanted to kiss him in that moment. Though William was getting along well in school, he was still a shadow of the child he used to be. He had his moments, but he wasn't the same kid.

But Jason changed that, even if it was for just a night at a pizza joint. She may not know Jason very well, but she did know that those parents that shunned him and his daughter—for whatever reason—where fools.

* * *

It was eight o'clock in the morning and someone was knocking on her door. Blinking her eyes furiously, Elizabeth threw her pillow against the wall.

Someone was going to die.

Not knowing how she made it there with her eyes still closed, Elizabeth ripped her front door open and stared grumpily at the large men standing on the other side. "What do you want?"

The largest of the three men shifted from one foot to the other. "We're, uh, we're here to help you move."

The hands that were scrubbing at her face dropped down to her sides. "What?"

"I don't know if you remember me, Ms. Webber," the large one spoke again. "But I'm Max, I showed you the apartment a week ago. Jason—"

"—is out of his freaking mind if he sent you three here this early."

"I did and I'm not." He was turning the corner when he heard Elizabeth's grumpy voice. Stepping through the three men staring down at her, Jason smiled at her disheveled appearance. She was always so put together in her little skirt suits that drove him crazy all week. But looking at her right now, her tank-top riding well above her bellybutton, her simple cotton pants riding low on her hips, didn't do too well with his sanity either.

Could this woman ever look bad?

Her frown turned on him. "I did send them here this early and I'm not out of my _freaking_ mind."

"You sure as hell are." She snapped. "Don't you realize that's its Saturday?" Later she would feel embarrassed, but right now she was just tired and cranky.

He kept his smile at bay, leaving his expression serious. "I know its Saturday, and we're here to move you."

They had a staring contest for a moment before Elizabeth let out a huff of breath. "Fine." She left the door open, walking into the kitchen. The word coffee was the only thing running through her mind at the moment.

She walked around the kitchen like a zombie, fixing the coffee while the men began to carry boxes out her door. Once her first cup was through her system, she was finally able to see—focus on—all the men working in her living room.

Yummy.

These men obviously worked out. A lot.

Each man was bigger than the next, Jason being the biggest she summarized with some pride she didn't know why she felt for him. He was a little shorter than Max, but… damn, was it legal to have so many good looking men in her apartment at once?

It suddenly dawned on her that she was wearing no makeup, that she looked a mess, and that she was a total bitch to them when she first opened her door. And while they worked on moving her, she stood around drinking her coffee.

Clearing her throat, she called out to Jason. "I'm just going to go get changed and I'll be right out." She offered a smile, hoping he wasn't annoyed with her. His only response was a nod.

She figured she should apologize to them, but that would have to wait until she didn't look like a total mess. Moving around quietly so not to wake William, she dressed the best she could, knowing that she would have to move boxes around. She added a light layer of makeup. Shallow enough to admit that having four good looking men in her company for most of the day was reason enough to look somewhat presentable.

Besides, they were more likely to forgive her if she didn't look so much like a nasty witch that she was to them only an hour before.

Walking back into her living room, Elizabeth was pleased to see all four men in the room. "I just want to apologize for this morning," She gave a flirtatious laugh. "I'm not really a morning person."

"It's ok, Ms. Webber." One of the men reassured with a smile. "I'm Francis, by the way." She smiled up at the blonde man as he extended his hand. He had a strong but gentle grip, his smile was very appealing. All together, he was a very well put together man.

The one who walked up to her next was the complete opposite. His nose was crooked, most likely broken in a fight, maybe he was a boxer of some sort, she guessed. His smile was large, his gaze direct. "The name's Johnny." His voice oozed of sexual appeal.

Smiling, she turned to Max and remembered his earlier statement.

"Yes, I remember you Max. Who could forget a face like that?" to emphasize her question, Elizabeth pinched his cheeks. Cheeks, she laughed inwardly, that turned bright red. "It's nice to meet you all, and I just want to thank you so much for coming to help me move. I don't know how, but I'll find some way to repay you all."

"Oh, no there's no need for that." Francis shook his head.

"I can't let you guys do this huge favor for me and not find some way to thank you. It would disappoint me greatly if you don't let me thank you in my own way. I hate to be disappointed."

"And I'd hate to see you disappointed." Johnny all but purred. "You can thank me anyway you want to."

Elizabeth's smile grew when Jason thrust a box into Johnny's arms, pushing him out the door as he glared at the man, and then at Elizabeth. Well that was interesting, she thought.

Interesting indeed.


	6. Chapter 6

I just wanted to say that I'm sorry it took me so long to update this. This past semester has been the hardest semester I have had and it was very time consuming. Again, I'm sorry and hope you enjoy!

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* * *

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**Chapter Six**

Well, Elizabeth thought as she looked around her new apartment living room filled with boxes, this was it.

This was her new home… and she loved it.

Not only would she and William both have their own bedrooms, but the kitchen—which she would hardly ever use—was spacious, her living room was twice the size of her old one and she was already mentally picturing everything that she could do with the new place.

The ceilings were high enough to place very tall book cases or shelves to place her one-of-a-kind art pieces, some she bought over time, some of her own.

This place would do _just_ fine.

"This is the last of it." Johnny announced as he walked through Elizabeth's door with a box on each shoulder.

"Why thank you, Johnny." Elizabeth smiled at him warmly then turned to the rest of the men in her living room. "I honestly don't know what I would have done without all of you, so thank you."

Max ducked his head blushing while Francis stood a little taller. Johnny, on the other hand, strutted toward her; coming very close and smiled down at her with a smile Elizabeth had no doubt helped many a woman into his bed. "Now, let's get to talking about how you're going to thank me. I believe you said you'd do _anything_." He finished with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a knowing look.

Elizabeth, prepared to give as good as she got, never had the chance to reply for Jason spoke before she could and though she wasn't looking at him she could hear the scowl in his voice.

"She's already said thank you and that's all you're going to get. Why don't you go see if Sonny needs anything before I'm the one who _thanks_ you?"

Johnny's smirk never left his face as he turned and walked out of the room calling over his shoulder. "I'll see you around Miss Webber." There was laughter in his voice.

Max quickly followed Johnny, almost tripping over his own feet and Francis pulled up the rear, giving Elizabeth another friendly smile while patting Max on the back.

While watching the men leave, Elizabeth heard thumping coming from William's new room followed by childish laughter and smiled. He was already making it home.

"So," Elizabeth started, giving Jason a tentative smile. "Again, thank you so much for today. You'll never know how grateful I am that you and the guys helped me out."

Jason smiled, tugged at his ear. "Are you going to unpack today?"

Unlike that morning, energy was surging through Elizabeth making her want to keep on moving. She already knew where everything was going to go and it was still early in the day. Why not make a dent on the apartment now?

"Yeah, I think I will."

"I'll help." Jason lifted his hands from his sides, indicating that all he needed was some instructions and he was all hers.

A protest immediately surfaced from her throat. "Oh, no you don't have to. You've already helped me so much today. I'm just going to unpack everything and it'll be really boring, trust me."

The corner of Jason's mouth twitched to smile, but he held it back. "I've got nothing to do. Besides, it'll get done quicker if you have some help."

Knowing she was not going to be able to talk him out of it, Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders and rubbed her hands together. "Alright, just, dig in… I guess."

After twenty minutes of Jason opening a box, asking where she wanted certain pieces of art or knick knacks, only to have her come behind him and rearrange what she had instructed him to do, Jason decided to open the box for her and hand her each item, letting her decide exactly how she wanted it.

He couldn't understand how placing a statue of a naked couple embracing on a shelf could take so much work, but it did. At least when it came to Elizabeth.

When she finally had the piece angling just right, she smiled and walked away, messing with something else. Jason stared at the piece for a couple of more minutes, still trying to figure out what the big fuss was about and why would Elizabeth want to display something like that. His forehead was creased in confusion and just when he was about to turn away from the piece, Elizabeth stood next to him, smiling proudly.

"I didn't take you for a man who appreciated art." She said with some amazement.

He stumbled over his words, trying to find a way to tell her he had no idea about art and let her down easily without disappointing her when she continued on in her chatty way. "I created this piece my junior year. Sculpting is not really my specialty, I'm a painter, but I had this huge crush on the professor so I took his class." She laughed at some memory. "I think he had a thing for me, too. But he never acted on it." A pretty brush spread across her alabaster cheeks when she looked up at him. She lifted a dismissive hand and took in a gulp of air. "Anyway, whether it was because he had a thing for me or he really thought I was good, he told me that this piece was the best in the class and I've displayed it ever since. It's stupid really."

"I think it's kind of nice." He assured her. "I'm…I'm not much of an art—guy. But I can tell this is good."

A burst of laughter erupted from her tiny form startling him at first but then causing a grin to spread across his face. "You're something else, Jason Morgan." She laughed, patting him on the chest.

Just then, William and Anna came storming out of his room, chasing each other around the couch. William ran right into one of the boxes, tipping it over and both adults cringed when something shattered inside.

Elizabeth was about to explode when Jason stepped in. "Hey you two. There's a lot of stuff in this room that can hurt you or brake. It's not a good idea to be running around yet."

"Sorry." Both children said in unison.

"Looks like I came at the right time."

Both Jason and Elizabeth turned around to see Sonny standing in her doorway, a broad smile crossing his handsome face. "It seems that these two rug rats need to get out of here while you finish unpacking."

"Uncle Sonny!" Anna beamed, running to him and laughing when he picked her up and tossed her in the air.

"Elizabeth," Jason gestured to the man, "You remember Sonny?"

"Yeah," she answered. "It's nice to see you again. I want to thank you so much for letting me and William live here."

Sonny's dimples shined as he smiled at her. "We could use more families in this building." He reassured her when the truth was far from that. It was safer to have fewer innocents in the building as possible but since the building had never been a place for attack for Sonny and Jason's business, both men felt it safe for her and her nephew to live there. The less Elizabeth knew, Sonny thought, the better for her.

"So what do you say?" Sonny asked. "Do you two want me to take the little ones for a while, give the two of you some room to finish unpacking?"

"Yeah!" Anna shouted, still propped against Sonny's shoulder. But when Elizabeth looked down at William, she could see her nephew was a little shy. Apparently Anna could tell as well because she jumped down from her uncle's arms and stood in front of William. In a whisper, so the adults couldn't hear even though they could, the little girl spoke to William. "Uncle Sonny is so much fun. He always takes me to the playground and then we get ice cream even when Daddy tells him I can't have any. Oh, and he'll buy you something."

Elizabeth was doing her best to keep from laughing. She wanted to pull Anna into her arms and give the child a huge hug when William looked up at her with a huge grin. "Can I go? Pawease!"

At Sonny's encouraging nod, Elizabeth knelt in front of William. "Sure. But don't bug him to buy you anything." She added sternly. She was just reaching for her wallet when she heard the door close and noticed that the three of them were gone, leaving her alone with Jason.

Shaking her head, Elizabeth sighed while she stared at the many boxes still left. "This is your chance to escape." She teased, hoping he wouldn't leave.

"No way."

For a moment, the two of them stared at each other, smiles on their faces and neither one of them wanting to look away. It was in the moment that Elizabeth thought he might kiss her, felt a weird sense of _wanting_ him to kiss her. He was a gorgeous man, tall enough that she had to lift her chin to look up into his eyes, eyes that made her go weak in the knees whenever they locked with hers. Though he was muscular and could probably lift her with one hand, he seemed intelligent, too, not like the muscle men Brenda always brought around.

Elizabeth wanted some eye candy as well as an interesting conversation.

And great sex.

There was always a need for great sex and she had no doubt that Jason Morgan was a man who could deliver.

Snapping back into the present, Elizabeth's cheeks heated red at her thoughts. If she had let her thoughts go any further she had no doubt that Jason would be on the floor right that minute with her lips attached to his.

Clearing her throat, Elizabeth turned away, praying to God that Jason wasn't some type of mind reader. "I have a feeling that I am never going to be able to finish this."

"You do have a lot of stuff."

"Hey," she said with mock defense, "are you trying to say something."

"No." He shrugged his shoulders, looking left, right, then back at her. "You just have a lot of stuff."

Seeing that he was serious, Elizabeth laughed and started back to unpacking her endless piles of boxes.

They had gotten back into their routine of him opening boxes and handing her things when his gaze snapped to hers after opening another box, a slight blush to his cheeks.

"These are ah… I don't think this box is for this…uh room."

It was when she looked at his hands that she saw one of her little red negligees dangling from one strong finger. Embarrassed and a little turned on at seeing the delicate garment in his hand, Elizabeth snatched it away and placed it back in the miss-marked box.

Trying to ease the embarrassment in the room, she gave Jason a saucy smile and placed the box aside. "Oh, come on Jason. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm sure you've seen those plenty of times." Though she was trying to make the moment easier, it left a bitter taste in her mouth to think of Jason with other woman.

Well where the hell did that come from?

He gave a short laugh, more like a huff of air. "No, not really."

Change the subject, she chanted, change it before it becomes too deep of a conversation. "What happened to Anna's mother?" She heard herself ask before she could think. Here she was trying to get into a lighter subject and she went and put her foot in her mouth. What the hell was wrong with her? "Forget I even asked. I have no place to—"

"No, it's ok." His voice was rough. "She uh—"

But before he could tell all that she didn't want to hear, but yet did, there was a knock at her door. Giving Jason an apologetic look, Elizabeth sprang to her feet and made it through her maze of boxes to the front door.

Patrick Drake stood there, dressed in one of his best suits with a bouquet of roses in one hand and an irritated expression on his handsome face. "I should have figured you wouldn't be ready." He said instead of a greeting. "I have been trying to call your cell all day and you haven't picked up or returned my calls. I had to hunt down Brenda and Lucky to find out that you were moving today—something you neglected to tell me. Then I had to threaten Lucky with bodily harm before I find out exactly where you moved to. And now I come here and you aren't even ready."

When he was finished, he glared down at her, waiting for her response. The only thing she could give him was: "Ready for what?"

"You forgot?" It wasn't a question but more of a demand. "We have had plans for weeks to go to the Cassidine black tie affair and you just forgot? You know how important this is for me and I needed—"

"Oh my God, Patrick, I am so sorry. With everything that's happened recently it completely slipped my mind. Just… just give me a couple of minutes and I'll be ready and we can go."

She had just turned around and was heading to her room when she saw Jason standing there, his expression unreadable—and stopped dead where she was, everything coming back to her. Turning back around, she gave Patrick an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry Patrick, but I can't go with you."

"What?"

She flinched at his tone but stood her ground. "I can't just leave William to go away for half the night. I have responsibilities now and I—"

"I'll watch him for you." Jason said from behind her.

"Who the hell is he?"

Narrowing her eyes at Patrick, Elizabeth turned to Jason. "This is my new neighbor, Jason. Jason this is…Patrick."

Neither man said anything.

Clearing her throat, Elizabeth broke the uncomfortable silence. "Thank you, Jason, but I couldn't do that to you."

"It's no big deal."

"For the love of God, Elizabeth. If the man wants to play babysitter, let him do it. We have a party to be at."

"Patrick!"

"Hey," he said, giving Elizabeth an impatient look. "You promised me that you'd go to this with me. I'm counting on you, just like your counting on me next month."

Elizabeth closed her eyes at the mention of her big showcase next month. It was going to be the biggest event her gallery hosted since its opening the year before and it would be totally humiliating if the owner showed up without a date. Turning back to Jason, she bit her lower lip. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Letting out a breath, she smiled and mouthed "Thank you" before rushing to her room and praying she could find something to wear not even thinking about the men she left alone in her living room.

Patrick looked Jason up and down, stepped into the apartment. "Elizabeth's a beautiful woman," he said with a knowing smile. "I don't know if you know about everything but she's not some cookie baking mom. She's a professional woman and if you think you're going to get an in with her by babysitting for the kid, you're wrong."

Jason didn't respond. Instead, he looked Patrick straight in the eyes and tilted his head to the side, his expression never changing.

Unnerved a bit by the silent treatment, Patrick took a step back but kept his head high. "You're wasting your time."

"I'm almost ready!" They both heard Elizabeth yell from her bedroom. Patrick smiled at that. Though it took some woman hours to get ready, Elizabeth could put herself together in minutes and still look like she spent hours on herself. "I'll just put my makeup on in the car!"

Patrick smirked at Jason. "That's my Elizabeth, always eager to please me."

The smirk slipped from his face when Jason took a step towards Patrick. But still, the bigger man didn't say anything.

Jason was seriously contemplating breaking in Elizabeth's new living room by splattering a bit of blood on her carpet by breaking the mans nose but decided against it. He was about to say something when he heard Elizabeth's door open behind him and turned to see her. It seemed that all the air was knocked out of him when she walked out of her room wearing a strapless black dress that hugged to her every curve, leaving little to the imagination. The dress flowed at her knees, then gave way to soft, silky legs the he itched to run his hands along.

Blinking, Jason forced himself to look at her face, not the swell of her breasts. He cleared his throat. "You…you look nice."

Elizabeth beamed up at him while Patrick gave a snooty chuckle. "You look beautiful." He cut in. Elizabeth gave the other man a smile as well before turning back to Jason.

"You have been my hero more than once today." When he thought she was going to move past him and out the door, she laid her hand on his cheek and placed a lingering kiss on his other cheek.

Not knowing what to do, Jason stood there and was just about to put his hand on her waist when a throat cleared behind them. "It's time to go."

Elizabeth pulled away from him but came to a stop when two more people rushed into her front door. "Oh, good, we made it on time. Here we thought we were going to have to take a cab to the party and I would rather die then let that happen. There is nothing tackier than a gay man dressed his best showing up in a yellow car."

Jason assumed, after the man spoke, that this was Brenda and Lucky.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Patrick growled at the two new comers.

"We're here to hitch a ride. You wouldn't think about letting Elizabeth's two best friends arrive to the party in a cab now, would you?" The woman, Brenda, smiled sweetly.

"After the hell you two put me through this afternoon—"

"Ugh." Came a disgusted reply out of Lucky while he pointed at Patrick. "You'll never believe what this…this bitch threatened to do to me, Elizabeth."

"If you would have just told me where she lived then I wouldn't—"

"Enough!" Elizabeth shouted over the uproar of the three of them shouting at each other. "I am so sick and tired of the three of you bickering all the time. Let's just go before we're late. And, yes, the two of you can ride with us."

"But," Patrick tried to protest but quickly shut his mouth at the look Elizabeth gave him.

Jason could see the longing look Elizabeth gave her apartment, knowing she wanted nothing more than to stay and finish it. Her gaze locked with his and he gave her a sympathetic smile. "Thank you," she said again. "Are you sure this is no trouble?"

"Not at all. It's Saturday and I usually take Anna to rent a movie and we just hang out. William will be fine."

A man who stayed home with his daughter on a Saturday night, before that would have turned her off, now if softened her heart a little.

She was just about to close the door when Sonny came back with the kids. Elizabeth tapped William on the nose and ruffled his hair a bit. "I have to go to a party tonight. Jason is going to watch you for a while. Are you ok with that?"

"Mmm-hmm" he replied eagerly. "I really like him."

She did, too. "You be good for him, ok?"

"Otay!" William agreed reaching up to give her a kiss which she gave to him without pause.

She looked up to see Sonny and Brenda assessing each other, knowing the other was doing their fair share of looking, and not having a care about it. Sonny smiled, inclined his head as he looked at Brenda. "Nice hat." He said then walked into the apartment with the kids and shut the door.

Elizabeth shook her head at her friend and smiled. "Why do you insist on wearing those huge hats?"

"Because I like them and I'm going to bring them back. And look what just happened. A hot, beautiful man just complimented me on it. Do you know if—?"

"No I don't know if he is seeing anyone and yes I'll ask."


End file.
